Tests for radioactivity tighten at border gates

The health ministry will strengthen checks at international border gates
to ensure products contaminated by radiation do not enter the country.

The move comes after concerns were raised over the
threat of imported products from Japan contaminated by radiation.
Additional measures announced by the ministry also include boosting
provision of health consultancy services relating to radioactive
exposure.

The ministry will also work with relevant
ministries and agencies to inspect radioactive contamination at airports
and monitor the spread of radioactive clouds from Japan to Vietnam
, according to head of the ministry's Preventive Medicine Department
Nguyen Van Binh.

The department has compiled lists
of passengers from Japan to Vietnam to tighten checks on the 300 to
400 passengers that travel from Japan to Vietnam each day.

These passengers all underwent radioactive decontamination procedures
before leaving Japan following an agreement between Japan and
Vietnam .

"Basically all passengers and products entering Vietnam from Japan are now safe," said Binh.

"However, the ministry will still keep close watch over passengers,
particularly those from the southern region of Japan , just in case
they are contaminated and somehow slipped through the safety net."

Observation stations in Hanoi , Lang Son, Da Lat, Ninh Thuan and HCM
City have been recording the movement of radioactive clouds,
according to the Institute of Nuclear Technology and Science.

"However, the level of radiation from these clouds are at a very low
level, and do not pose a threat to human health and the environment,"
said the institute's director Trinh Van Giap. /.